Soul Emperor Awakening

Lin Xuan wasn’t surprised by this result in the slightest. The Demon Cloud Sea could be said to have abundant resources, yet they were also scarce. After all, everything was separated by this vast Demon Sea, so each island’s resources were limited. Islands with fewer resources often resorted to plundering others.

Furthermore, the Elemental Power around the Demon Sea was quite thin, as it was all absorbed by the bizarre sea itself. As a result, the ambient Elemental Power was almost negligible. This was precisely why Lin Xuan needed to absorb Primordial Stones to recover. If the concentration of Elemental Power were similar to that of the Core Hall, his recovery would be much faster.

For this reason, Primordial Stones were extremely precious here, which made that bounty a rather lavish sum. Conversely, weapons weren’t particularly expensive—far cheaper than at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. Only Elixir Pills and Primordial Stones were considered truly valuable.

Led by an attendant, they arrived at a top-tier Celestial Level private box—the best one available. Inside, the decor was luxurious and grand. Platters of various fruits and decanters of fragrant wine were laid out for them. From their vantage point, they had a clear view of the auction stage and the sprawling audience seats below.

It was on a completely different level from their Celestial Level box. Here, the ambiance was elegant and the air was fresh, a stark contrast to the stuffiness of the floor below. Down there, a sea of people churned; a quick glance revealed at least a thousand attendees, and a cacophony of voices drifted up from the crowd.

’Sure enough, having money makes all the difference.’ The attendants only needed to know how much money a guest had to provide them with the appropriate seating. It was a simple fact of life: money guaranteed better service. If you were penniless and just planned on window shopping, how could you possibly receive such treatment?

"Please, take your time and enjoy yourselves, Young Masters. If you need anything at all, just call for someone from outside the door." The attendant bowed respectfully—a bow from an Essence Pill Stage Level cultivator. It was as deferential as a bow could possibly be. Now *that* was service!

’Cash is king, that saying is certainly true. Of course, that only applies in here. Once you step outside, if you don’t have the strength to back it up and get robbed, then the other guy becomes the real king.’

After the attendant left, Tuo Yunhai exclaimed in awe, "This place is gorgeous! Brother Lin, what are we here to do?"

"To buy a few things. A few things I need," Lin Xuan said, his eyes narrowed as he watched the auction stage below. Someone was already carrying an item up. An auction was held here every Hour, with no other time restrictions.

You could start bidding as soon as you arrived and took your seat. Everyone here was a Cultivator, and Cultivators weren’t bound by the cycles of day and night. They could go for weeks without rest, needing only to meditate to restore their spirits. To people like them, sleep had long since become a tremendous waste of time. Cultivation restored one’s energy far more quickly, making sleep utterly redundant.

That’s why many large cities were cities that never slept, with no real distinction between day and night. Business was conducted whenever a customer arrived. This auction house was a prime example of that principle: if people showed up, the bidding began!

Soon, a breathtakingly beautiful auctioneer walked onto the stage. She had an enchanting figure and wore an exceptionally revealing outfit that exposed large swathes of her fair skin. The view of her chest, in particular, was enough to make most men in the audience’s blood boil. However, the moment anyone sensed her cultivation, they wouldn’t dare entertain any improper thoughts—she was a Spirit Pill Stage expert!

This auctioneer was a Spirit Pill Stage expert. To have reached the Spirit Pill Stage at such a young age, even if she had only just entered it, meant her talent was undoubtedly high. Moreover, anyone who could become the auctioneer here had to have an extraordinary background. In fact, the auction house itself was clearly no simple operation; whoever was capable of running such an establishment in this place definitely had powerful backers.

"For this auction, I have prepared many fine items for everyone, including a few treasures that I’m certain you will find satisfactory!" the auctioneer announced with a dazzling smile. "But there’s one prerequisite: all of you must have your Primordial Stones ready. If anyone bids recklessly, be warned that you will face the most severe of punishments!"

The most common form of reckless bidding was driving up the price on a rival, especially when you didn’t have the funds to back it up yourself. The auction house actually welcomed such people. The catch was, if you won the bid but couldn’t pay, you’d likely be forfeiting your life right here and now.

No deposit was required here; the bidding started immediately. But most people didn’t dare to bid irresponsibly, because there were precedents of people who had tried, and they had all paid a terrible price!

"Sister Ya, spare us the repetition! Just get started, we can’t wait any longer!" someone in the audience shouted impatiently. They had heard these warnings so many times their ears were growing calluses.

"This repetition is quite necessary. If some people are only here for the spectacle, they truly will receive the severest of punishments, you know? Like being thrown out to feed the Tiger Fish or something," Sister Ya said with a syrupy smile, though her words carried no sweetness at all.

After that brief introduction, the first item was finally brought out, concealed under a red cloth. Sister Ya whipped the cloth away, revealing a book. She then announced, "Here is our first appetizer: a Celestial Level Martial Art, the Celestial Dragon Overbearing Technique! The starting bid is one million Primordial Stones, with a minimum increment of one hundred thousand. Let the bidding begin!"

’Well now, they even sell Celestial Level Martial Arts here.’ Lin Xuan couldn’t help but marvel at the abundance of resources. The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion had no such techniques for sale. Even if they did, they would certainly cost more than this, and more likely, they would have been reserved and sold privately long ago.

"One million!" someone immediately called out from the adjacent private room.

"One million two hundred thousand!"

"One million four hundred thousand!"

The price soared. Primordial Stones were precious here, but there was certainly no shortage of wealthy individuals. Thus, there was no price that couldn’t be met, only items that couldn’t be procured.

Lin Xuan had no interest in this sort of thing, so he didn’t join the bidding. He recalled that he had access to plenty of Celestial Level Martial Arts within his memories. ’Which of the souls in the Soul Pearl hadn’t been a mighty expert in their past life? They all possessed Celestial Level Martial Arts; I have no shortage of them at all.’

’Of course, it wasn’t a matter of having more Celestial Level Martial Arts; the one that suited you was the one that mattered.’

In the end, the Celestial Level Martial Art was sold for two million, two hundred thousand Primordial Stones—a truly astonishing price.

"Our second item is another highlight!" Sister Ya announced, once again whipping away the red cloth. A long, red staff was revealed to the crowd. Unfortunately, the staff appeared somewhat damaged, its surface marred by blade marks. It had clearly clashed with other weapons; otherwise, such marks wouldn’t exist.

Generally, any weapon with such marks was considered damaged. Fortunately, this particular staff wasn’t too badly damaged; the nicks were merely superficial, and it was still perfectly usable.

When Lin Xuan saw the long staff, his heart jolted. He shot to his feet and cried out involuntarily, "Father’s weapon!"

According to Lin Hua’s memories, this staff was his father’s signature weapon. He was utterly shocked to see it appear at this auction.